Elysium - Background and Signups

[Aleu]

A pinch of steam, a dash of magic, a touch of intrigue and a host of mysteries! Welcome, everyone, to the world of Elysium, the land of Light.

Elysium is set in a primarily steampunk world, with elements of magic as well. The main aspects of the country will unravel as time goes on, but for now:

The city of Pharos the Librarium is the capital of the country of Elysium. The city is actually an immense series of interconnected libraries, built out of bronze and rusted iron. A series of catwalks spans the skyline of the city, and provide the main method of pedestrian transportation, while below, rail trolleys and horse-drawn carriages occupy the streets. The center of the city is occupied by the Sebastian clocktower, which rings the hours.

The main storyline follows the journey of a small group of adventurers, tasked by the Librarium Council (the presiding governing body of the city) to investigate some strange goings on in the city proper. Your character is one of them! See the first post for an ideal of what kind of archetype you might want to cast them as.

That's all for now

[Shiori Ailill]

I saw the RP post first and was like "is there a setting post somewhere like in signup?" XD Yeah so joining this. I'll need to read the starting post in more detail and then post. Do you want a character sheet too here?

[Aleu]

I do not require a character sheet, actually! I think all of you are talented enough writers to make everything come together through your prose, but if you would like to please go ahead. Details about the world and the story will unfold as things go, instead of being explained all at once more adventuresome that way!

[Shiori Ailill]

And of course I'm going brain-dead on a character idea I'm assuming Aline is an academic at the Library, trying to figure out if she's more tech or more magic... I've got a couple of ideas that are not quite fleshing themselves out yet but they're there. A scholar of tech (or magic) at a nearby academy, a commoner that has a knack for tech (or magic) but no official training, an urchin/criminal type... blarg...

[Aleu]

One of the main ideas in Elysium is that technology and magic have found a happy balance with one another - certain things are much better to do with technology, some things are much better to do with magic (thaumaturgy). Magic is a very flexible and powerful tool in Elysium: it can be used "classically," with fireballs, bursts of lightning and ice, levitation, etc, which requires innate skill and practice on the part of the caster. It's also commonly used in conjunction with technology ("thaumatech"), which is a complicated affair that requires a lot of experience and learning, and is usually left to professional craftsmen. (The reason they use "thaumatech" instead of the more common "magitech" is because the study of magic is considered a scientific pursuit, 'the study of the thaum.") Healing magic is the most difficult of all, because it requires a precise knowledge of the body and the ability to manipulate it with surgical precision. Healers are rare and extremely valuable people: the total number in the country is no more than about twenty.

The social structure in Elysium, especially Pharos, is pretty much what you'd expect. The poor and middleclass are made of manual laborers and tradesmen, while a small number of aristocratic elite live in relative comfort. These people typically are the ones who are able to afford to spend their time studying magic. The city is not one of rampant crime, but there is significant room for small gangs of thieves to make their livings pocketing wares and staging small-scale robberies throughout the different market sections.

To give you a little bit of help getting an idea together, remember that the group of people called to see the Council is a hand-picked group. They're not just regular bums who happen to stumble in, but they're people (from all walks of life) who have been identified as valuable assets (through some rather invasive spying). Think of someone who'll be good at something - how they interact with others, where they come from, and all that other stuff is secondary to their ability to contribute to an investigation and elimination mission.

Aline herself is a fairly distinguished scholar at the Library. She studies thaumatech, primarily for military or police use, and she's a great action girl, think-on-your-feet type of character. The Council decided she'd be a good pick because of her knowledge about how weapons and defense systems are built, and also how to take them apart.

TL;DR VERSION: PICK SOMETHING YOUR CHARACTER IS GOOD THAT THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT'LL BE USEFUL. GO FROM THERE.

Hope that wasn't too much ^^

[Shiori Ailill]

Running an idea by you first before I start. I'm thinking of a rogueish type character that was a former minor aristocrat who's family fell on hard times and now he lives in more of the middle/low class (more low but anyway) I was thinking that he knew a little thaumatech because he did have some schooling but couldn't complete his studies because of what happened with his family and is now using that knowledge for his new profession, thievery.

Wanted to run it by because it's a currently lower/midclass type person who knows something that normally only the upper class knows.

edit: making a character sheet anyway, this character has multiple "forms" (I've had him in DnD and he's not really human) So I'm doing this to get the details right for this world in case he's allowed XD.

Name: Naes Kurovayu (Yes Ari, he's going to join this too)

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Class: Thief

Appearance: Naes is quite handsome, once you get past the dirt, oil, and grim that now seems to be forever stuck to his skin. If he was given the luxury of a proper bath you would see his light skin and his long, thick blue-black hair. His eyes are a deep blue that don't sparkle, but always seems to have a glint to them.

The young man normally dresses in the colors of the city, various browns and tans. This helps with his new occupation. Although it looks like he's thin under his clothes Naes is actually lean and muscular. His hair is tied back in a loose ponytail. Naes also wears an earring in his left ear and a ring on his left pinky of blackened silver.

Naes also has an odd bronze tube on his left hip. Some people think it's a hip flask, others something to put more power in his punches. It's actually a retractable sword that he uses his wing-thaum to activate and deactivate.

The slight hunchback people might see is not due to being hunched over working on his gadgets, it actually is one of his projects that he keeps with him. He hopes to eventually use it to see the city in a way no one has. It still have a few kinks to work out though >

Personality: Going from a pampered lifestyle to the streets has hardened Naes a bit and he may come off as cold but that's more of a defense mechanism. He can be quite friendly and even downright mischievous at times and when that happens he either really likes you... or you're his target for the day.

Fighting Style: Now if Naes was caught doing his thievery he normally tries to get the hell outta dodge but he will fight if he has to. He doesn't try to run away from all fights he gets himself into though, just those that he invokes while on the job, or if he knows that he's at a severe disadvantage (severely outnumbered etc.). Naes is a fast fighter that would use any trick he can use to get the advantage in battle and loves to catch his opponents off guard, especially when he brings out his sword. He's been trying to modify his sword to incorporate illusion-thaumtech but with little success.

Skills and talents: Jury-rigging, Illusion-thaumtech, Wind-thaum, pickpocketing, cat burglary.

Inventory: Wind-thaum sword, boot knife, thieves tools, climbing gear, smoke & flashbang grenades, distraction "grenades", illusion image device, special project.

History: will add later

[Arynielle]

Soooo what's the limit on characters exactly? Human? Or are you allowing other races to enter as well? Animals? Can they communicate with these characters?

Also, what's the typical fighting style? Are these people limited to magic or are there traditionally used weapons at all such as swords and arrows? :3 I know there are thieves, but what about the other folk?

[Shiori Ailill]

Well being a type of steampunk world I'm assuming that have guns available if you wanted. From what I've gathered with the fighting style I can see being a mage-type or a techie-type or something inbetween if your character had the training for such things. For more physical arts, I can see basically anything really: swords, staves, hand-to-hand...

Those are my assumptions anyway.

No clue about races and whatnot XD

[Aleu]

Shiori: Sounds fine to me! Illusionary magic is a little bit of a stretch, because it's closer to a cyberpunk kind of setting than a steam/diesel one, but if it's sufficiently limited then it should be fine :3

Ari/Shiori: The world is entirely human, no pointy ears to be found here! There's no communication with animals beyond what you would find in a very close master/pet kind of relationship: sorry to say no one's figured out how to listen to animals chit-chat quite yet :< In terms of combat, it's an age of swords, magic, bows, and a very small number of muskets: right at the point where guns are too inefficient to be in widespread use, but aren't unheard of. Magicians tend to use staves as foci for their spellcasting, but preferences tend to vary widely. Sword-wielders and archers usually hail from the upper classes, where such things are taught as part of the education of the gentry, or from military origins. However, skilled wanderers and vagabonds are relatively common, and usually enter the employ of travelling trading caravans or as the escort of high-ranking officials. You have pretty much whatever freedoms you might want with this sort of thing as long as you can think of a reasonable reason, but I just ask that you keep it in context with the setting - for example, instead of a carved wooden staff, you might make it into somekind of varnished hardwood stick with a gilt cap and copper point, or into a hollow copper rod, or something simliar. It's a culture of metal and steam instead of trees and wilderness.

Aline, for example, always carries a knife and a thaumatechnic revolver. She's inexperienced in combat but her rank as a researcher in arms development gives her the connections to procure a fitting weapon with which to defend herself on the sometimes rough streets of Pharos.

A little more background on the setting and story:

Pharos is a port city in the country of Elysium. It is an important economic hub, but its true value lies in its libraries - the city is actually a single immense series of interconnected libraries, with homes, markets, and other lively necessities wormed into the cracks. The Librarium is ruled by the Council, a sort of parliament of eleven members that govern the proceedings of the city. The Council has a reputation for being fair and just, but mysterious as well. They are known to have the city's well-being in mind, though their definition of well-being and that of the general population is known to differ from time to time. They have a well-known network of information gatherers and spies throughout the city, and it's common knowledge that you should watch your mouth and watch your step lest someone be listening at an inopportune moment.

The city itself is a rusty, dusty affair. Formly built of steel and iron, years of exposure to the salty sea air has put most of the city in a state of copper-colored disrepair. It is a ramshackle yet practical place, where things work by sheer force of spit and grit. sections are Society is stratified significantly, and personal freedoms are limited de facto. The poor lowerest classes are viewed with general contempt and a small measure of pity, and typically work the docks by day and whittle away their evenings in the cheap bars that dot the rowdier corners of the workers quarters. They live in small, cramped tenanments near the docks, and the streets are narrow and generally filthy and an unpleasant place to visit. The middle class and upper middle class consists of craftsmen and merchants, respectively. Their living quarters are further into the city, and the long, winding streets that occupy the city proper are lined with merchants hawking their goods and food stands selling all manner of meals and snacks. Some of which more suspicious than others, of course. The final class is the aristocracy, who live comfortable lives and make their living primarily by means of a "class tax" on the lower tiers of society.

There are also gangs of thieves and a significant flux of travelling treasure-hunters and wanderers. Pharos is a port and therefore a tremendous transportation hub, making it a great place to stage a quick getaway from the law, or a vital transfer point on the journey for lost riches.

Hope that helps a bit!

[Shiori Ailill]

Naes's illusions are pretty limited. It's another distraction trick or more often, used to create an alibi. The "programing" of it normally involves a double of him that's doing some simple movement. Examples: He's being pursued down an alley and he reaches a T section, he throws down a gadget that's on a couple second delay that mirrors him running but in the opposite way he's actually going (lasts only a few seconds just enough for the pursuers to go the wrong way). The longer the illusion the more simple it has to be.

His "alibi" illusion is about a minute long that's set to repeat and it basically him leaning against a wall with only very small movements like moving the head side to side to "watch" a crowd. Naes also has to be very careful on placement and the like since they're insubstantial and he doesn't want people to look too close.

[Aleu]

Ah, okay. That sounds good to me then :3 Naes is a green light go ahead!

[Shiori Ailill]

YAY! Posted! Yeah Naes's opinion of the Sebastian Tower is much different than Aline's XD

[Aleu]

{Aline's Mini-Profile}

Aline is from the Hayes family, a moderately aristocratic family native to Pharos. She's an only child of an ambassador and a wealthy noblelady. The only other notable person in her family is her cousin Tagelied, an thaumaturgist and alchemist who lives across the sea in Esmira. She's in her early 20's and she's been graduated from the Academy for three years. She distinguished herself in the Academy with a knack for engineering and with her father's connections found herself able to establish a personal laboratory in Mycroft. She's proven herself worth the investment, though - she's been contracted for mostly military she helped invent the thaumatechnic revolver that's just started to enter circulation as a standard sidearm, and her most famous invention is an explosive device used for breaking down fortified entrances. She has a reputation as a serious, but pleasant person; she's intense, tolerates no nonsense, but she's kind at heart.

[Arynielle]

Not a bad idea. Here's Kerthe's life in a nutshell:

He was born into a wealthy family of the upper class, discovered to be a magical virtuoso, and thrown into his studies. Due to his high level of intelligence and ability to work with magic, he does display an air of slight arrogance -- in other words, he does think he's better than everyone else, though he's too much of a gentleman to admit to that. He was taught modesty, but the truth is that it's hard for him because in many ways, he is "better" at things than most. He likes reading, the arts, and has a fine eye for women, though he's no womanizer (he doesn't like taking advantage of people). In this roleplay, I would think he's in his late teens (18 or 19), so he's had his fill of education and working under the watchful eyes of professors, but now he's looking for something new. He is particularly fond of elemental magic, his favorite element being fire.

[Shiori Ailill]

Know I know people are busy which is completely fine, no rush or anything. I just noticed that Aleu has responded to Ari's post but not mine, fyi.